My two year old pug has recently developed a white lump on the inside od his lip....It doesn't apear to be causing any pain as he still thoroughly enjoys his 'food'....Anyone know what I am dealing with (an absess or a wart or something else????)
thanks
andy & jake

There are a number of possibilities: lymphoid tissue, sebaceous cyst, pustule, etc. Usually just lancing these will solve the problem, and if this is a solitary fluid-filled lesion without inflammation/pain/redness then that would be my first course of action.

If however it appears to be a firm mass, then I would biopsy. If there is inflammation/redness/pain, then antibiotic therapy would also be indicated.

On occasion these resolve spontaneously, and was just likely reactive lymph tissue. See your veterinarian for further information and treatment.

My MIN PIN has developed about 6-8 lumps on her head. They are semi-firm and move underneath the skin and are not attatched to the skull but adheared to the skin itself underneath.

She was recently given a dose of Revolution (about 1 1/2 weeks ago) and the lumps appeared a few days ago (about 1 week after the Revolution).

They are not irritating to her (she doesn't scratch), she eats well, plays and seems to be fine. The lump to first appear is the largest...others showed up after this one. They are skin toned and not irritated unless we 'pick' at them to find out where and how many there are.

They have been there about 4 days now from the first one appearing to finding more over the last 3 days.....
Suggestions?
How long should I wait to see if this resolves itself?

This showed up about a week ago as a red perfectly round bump with a white
dot in the center of it. It's about 3/8" wide and about 3/16" high.
It's red but does not feel hot to the touch.
He licks it quite a bit and gets it bleeding almost everyday.
He shows no signs of it bothering him, pain wise that is..
We thought at first he may have bit his lip but just today another little bump has shown up on the side of the first bump.
Here's pics of the problem.http://www.cubfaq.com/chewy.html

The vet which is very new and since we live in the boon docks and have no other choice said not to worry about it and gave us some Clavamox to try. He's been taking it twice a day for a week and the bump seems to be getting worse.

First her nose seemed a little red and swollen but then that went away. Then the little nubs on the side of her lips (feelers maybe, I'm not sure what you call them) which are usually black, turned red and started swelling a little bit and were very dry. It has also started hanging down a little bit so it stays dried out and I think that that might be keeping it from healing, she also rubs her paw over it sometimes. We have taken her to the vet before for red bumps that she has gotten on her chest, and they told us that it was probably some kind of allergy to something. She likes to get my shirts after I have slept in them and she lays on them and sometimes licks the shirts, we have not been letting her do this anymore but this has not gone away and it has been like this almost a week now. Any suggestions on what could cause this or maybe something that would be safe to use on it to keep it moisterized a little better? Thank you for any advice.

Thanks for posting the picture. I am glad you did as my shepherd has the exact same conditions as seen in the photo.

I was told it was either pyoderma or an immune system disease (pemphigus). I was hoping for pyoderma and we have her on antibiotics. They are very strong and making her nauseated (cephexalin). She has to stay on it for 4 weeks! It got better and then it has gotten worse in the second week. Her lip swelling fluctuates.

There is also someone who has a shepherd with the same symptoms. They posted a photo on the web in 2004 at the photo site:

Thanks for the reply, we just moved and have not had a chance to take her to the vet yet. It is going on a couple weeks now that it has been like this, it is starting to look a little better, some of the black is coming back like the other side, and swelling has gone down. I plan to take her to the vet this weekend though to see what they say, I am going to mention to them the causes that you said it might be, and hope that they will be able to tell us what it is or give us something to get rid of it. I will make another post after the appt. to let you know what they said. Good luck with your dog, I hope too that it is something that the antibiotics can fix, even though that sucks that they make her sick. Thanks again, Christy

Great. I sent you an email with my contact details using this web site messaging. Please let me know if you don't get it, otherwise please email me so we can share info. Once we get a handle on what is going on with our dogs, I ( or we) can post what the cause/cure was back to this forum. I have my dog set for a few appointments with specialists over the next few weeks.

After several unsuccessful weeks on antibiotics and after consulting with several vets, we decided to try steroids under the diagnosis that it is her immune system that is overreacting and causing her lips to swell and blister as in the photos by Shadow. There is some info on the internet regarding this condition called pemphigus. If this is the cause, then the steroids (prednisone) should slow down her immune system.

I will update. She had a bad initial reaction to the prescribed prednisone immune system dosage and we have scaled it back and trying it again. The dosage will only last for a few days and taper off. I will post if this turns out to be effective.

As discussed, we took our dog for a second opinion to a highly referred DVM, apparently one with over 30+ years of experience. He instantly identified the problem saying he had seen it before. No doubt it was an immune system disease. No doubt!

After a shot of prednisone and an unusually high dose of prednisone pills prescribed ( over 120mg/day ), our dog was on its death bed after two days, unable to catch its breath. Further, her symptoms all exacerbated to worse levels ever seen. In distress and looking for help on a weekend, I telephoned the referral DVM and left a voice message (a few days later a call was returned and I was told not to call them at home rather wait until business hours in the future). Going back to my original DVM, I was instructed to give the pred more time. After 6 days and my dog very close to death, I contacted a specialist and he immediately began weaning her off the high pred dose that was so casually prescribed. He reviewed her history and couldn't believe the "guru" DVM's treatment plan. After reading up on it, I can't believe how extreme their flippant diagnosis and treatment was that nearly killed my dog. The arrogance of the guru "male" DVM should have been a warning sign. It seem he was trying to impress the referral "female" DVM more so than focusing on my dog.

My dog is back on a course of strong antibiotics again and nearly back to the "pre-prednisone" state. Damn them to hell please...

Be careful out their with prednisone and especially if it is diagnosed so flippantly with such careless arrogant wreckless regard.

I just found the thread online concerning the inflamed lips of some dogs and my dog has exactly the same thing. I took her the vet thinking it was just an infection and after 2 weeks on antibiotics and a shot to take down inflammation, it has improved only mildly and now I'm afraid it will come back. I would also like to see a new vet (dissatisfied with my old one) so I was wondering if there was any update as to what the condition has diagnosed as so I can go into my new vet prepared?

From what I understand regarding Prednisone after doing research and consulting with specialists:

Regarding Prednisone:

1) Should only be prescribed in such a massive immune system stopping dose as a LAST resort when all else fails.
2) Should not be given as a shot ( as its long term acting ) in case the pet has a reaction to it as the shot is long-term acting (2-3 weeks).
3) Should never be given when the pet has an infection (which was the original other DVM's diagnosis).

Those three broken "rules" has me furious at the "guru" DVM who failed to not follow them and also failed to inform me of the side effects along with the fact that you can't simply stop giving your pet Pred and must be weened. If my dog was a person I would have a malpractice file so quick their head would spin.

my dog's lip looks just like that right now. doesn't look too serious...just kind of inflamed with those bumps sticking up and very bright red. is it autoimmune? inflamatory? i hate to put her on steroids...that's never good for anybody, really. they can do more harm than good, and she doesn't seem to be bothered, she's not licking or chewing at it or anything. any info anyone has would be much appreciated!

Does anyone on this thread have any conclusive advice on a treatment plan - my dog has the same thing now for a week. The vet said to put animax cream on it - that is not doing anything as the cream does not stick to the wet lip. I am very concerned as to following a treatment plan that works and that does not hurt the dog. He also recommended a shot, but warned of the side effect profile...Please reply - thanks.

Hi. I just found this site and registered. I have an eleven year old basset hound/beagle with the exact same issue. He's had pink/reddish inflamed pestules on the lips before and they resolved on their own within 2-3 days. He was never bothered by them. This time however, he seems to be itching at them with his back legs and front paws and this has caused them to bleed a little. He's generally very healthy with the exception that he has diabetes incipitus and he drinks very large amounts of water.

Did anyone ever obtain a better diagnosis on this? I'm not fond of prednisone and would only try that as an absolute last resort.

My shepherd had these exact symptomos. After being misdiagnosed as pemphigus and given a cure that nearly killed her, we concluded that it was a stubborn case of lip fold pyoderma.

If your dog responds to antibiotics ( preferably Clavamox ) then it is very likely lip fold pyoderma. Lip fold pyoderma is stubborn and my shepherd is on her 4th antibiotic regiment. The first three regiments were not long enough to rid it completely and it came back after about a week. The last regiment has been Clavamox twice a day full strength for your dog's weight for two months, then a very gradual weaning off of Clavamox for another few months. Currently she is on half-dosage of the orginal prescribed amount.

If your dog responds to antibiotics ( after 4-5 days ) then assume that it is very likely lip fold pyoderma and not something more serious. It might be stubborn so go thru the entire antibiotic regiment which might have to be for an extended period. My dog's symptoms (itching lips ) returned after being off antibitics for 3 days. I quickly resumed a longer course of the antibiotics as discussed.

Don't let your dog be misdiagnosed. Lip fold pyoderma is common and often misdiagnosed as pemphigus.

My 3yr old chocolate lab has gotten a big red lumb in his gums/lip. I am very concerned. He was brought to the vet and they put him on some antibiotic and steroids and it basically was gone and then a few days after it started to come back. He was put back on only steroids and this time it just seems to be getting worse...If anyone has any idea what it might be that would be great thanks!!

My 3yr old chocolate lab has gotten a big red lumb in his gums/lip. I am very concerned. He was brought to the vet and they put him on some antibiotic and steroids and it basically was gone and then a few days after it started to come back. He was put back on only steroids and this time it just seems to be getting worse...If anyone has any idea what it might be that would be great thanks!!

My dog has a similar issue, and has been seen by two different vets. First, antibiotics were prescribed and that didn't work. Then, prednisone (10mg a day) was given and it actually worked, however the lip swelling has come back. The second round of prednisone didn't do anything. I am told I need to get a biopsy, but was wondering if it looked familiar to anyone because I can't afford a biopsy right now.

bellaboo2009 ~ My dogs lip is starting to look just like your dogs lip please tell me what was wrong with it? Here is an album of photos of my dogs lip:http://ExploreJuneau.com/FREYA/LIP

#1# First they tried Antibiotics (Cephalexin) really high dose - had zero effect
(Also had me apply a warm washcloth twice a day to the area)
#2# Then went to another vet who pressed a glass slide to the lip to look at under the microscope to see if any bad cells stuck to the slide. They said no abnormal cells were visible. All four vets stood in the room collaborating on a diagnosis and decided to give her a shot of 20mg DEPO MEDROL which did make the lip swelling go down noticeably. Then after a week or so it has now returned.
### I am really worried for her and bellaboo2009 your dogs lip looks almost identical to me - so please let me know!

Hi can anyone help I have noticed my dog has a red lump on his bottom lip it's slightly bigger than a pea and has a couple of different shades of red in it my dog is a springer spaniel and is a male and 12 months old any ideas ?